Deadpan Theatre
Deadpan Theatre perform Third Wheel at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at Gilded Balloon, Dining Room from 2nd -27th Aug at 2pm. www.deadpantheatreco.co.uk
What was the inspiration for this performance?
S: It was originally a sitcom idea we had a while ago which probably came about because we’re both overly pre-occupied with death…
M: Hate a bit of death
S: But writing-wise, useful because it’s about as universal as it gets
M: Yeah it sort of underpins everything doesn’t it?
S: See, very pre-occupied
M: On a lighter note it’s always fun to see queer characters
S: Particularly women
M: Onstage and not being sad about being gay or bi or whatever
S: We want to see them just getting on with life
M: …And death
Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas?
M: Yeah of course
S: Ideas are at their most interesting and important when they’re connected to stories so…
M: And people
S: Yeah exactly so performance and plays seem like an ideal way of exploring them
How did you become interested in making performance?
M: I think we’ve both always been involved in creating performances in some way or another
S: Lying mostly
M: A lot of lying
S: And and then when we met it became very clear that we have a similar tone and way of telling stories so it made sense to sort of do it together
Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?
M: We improvise characters to find voices and jokes and stuff
S: Yeah and we’re always trying to top each other so editing and punching up each others scenes is really fun and useful- they go back and forth until we’re happy with all the moments and exchanges
M: Also we surround ourselves with the most talented people we can find and make them play with us
S: Yeah the show has loads of music, for example, and we wrote the lyrics but the music itself was written by a guy called Joe Ruddleston who is a little bit of a genius
M: And then we have two ridiculous directors who made these songs come alive with all this brilliant physical theatre
S: We get lucky with the people who make it all look good basically
Does the show fit with your usual productions?
S: It’s slightly more ambitious than usual
M: We usually write shows that take place in one room over an evening or so
S: Sitcoms for the stage
M: Whereas this has the same pace and dialogue and humour but we have to travel the UK
S: And there’s an onstage band
M: And physical fun
S: And death
What do you hope that the audience will experience?
S: Hopefully a lot of laughter
M: And an investment in a lesser-seen love story
S: I think they’ll witness the process of grief for young people
M: Which is primarily through humour because hey, if you don’t laugh
S: You’d cry. They might cry though actually
M: Would be nice to get a mix in there
No comments:
Post a Comment